BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 760| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: SB 760 Author: Alquist (D) Amended: 5/25/11 Vote: 21 SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 5/4/11 AYES: Lowenthal, Alquist, Blakeslee, Hancock, Huff, Liu, Price, Simitian, Vargas NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Vacancy SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-1, 5/23/11 AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Lieu, Pavley, Price, Steinberg NOES: Runner NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Emmerson SUBJECT : Postsecondary education: the Cal Grant Program SOURCE : California Student Aid Commission DIGEST : This bill clarifies and defines the annual reporting requirements, required under SB 70 (Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee), Chapter 7, Statutes of 2011, for all institutions that voluntarily choose to participate in the Cal Grant program. ANALYSIS : Existing law specifies, under SB 70, as a condition for its voluntary participation in the Cal Grant program, each Cal Grant participating institution shall provide the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) with enrollment, persistence, and graduation data for all CONTINUED SB 760 Page 2 students and job placement rate and salary data and wage information for each program that is either (1) designed or advertised to lead to a particular type of job; or (2) advertised or promoted with any claim regarding job placement. Existing law authorizes the Cal Grant Program, administered by the CSAC, to provide grants to financially needy students in order for them to attend college. These grants are awarded in order to assist with the costs of a program of study that result in the award of an associate or baccalaureate degree or certificate requiring at least 24 semester units or the equivalent, or results in eligibility for transfer from a community college to a baccalaureate degree program. Existing law provides that a "qualifying institution" for purposes of participation in the Cal Grant Program, must be one of the following: 1. A California private or independent postsecondary educational institution that participates in the Pell Grant program and at least two of the following: A. Federal Work-Study. B. Perkins Loan Program. C. Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program. 2. A nonprofit institution headquartered and operating in California that: A. Certifies to the CSAC that 10 percent of its operating budget, as demonstrated in an audited financial statement, is expended for institutionally funded student financial aid in the form of grants. B. Demonstrates the capacity to administer the funds. C. Is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, or is regionally accredited and was deemed qualified to participate in the Cal Grant Program by the CSAC for the 2000-01 academic year. CONTINUED SB 760 Page 3 D. Meets any other state-required criteria adopted by regulation by the CSAC in consultation with the Department of Finance. 3. Any California public postsecondary educational institution. This bill: 1. Clarifies the enrollment, persistence and graduation data, required as a condition for voluntary participation in the Cal Grant program (included in SB 70), from each participating institution for each term of the academic year immediately prior, for all students in its Cal Grant eligible undergraduate programs at each California campus identified under the same six-digit federal Office of Postsecondary Education identification number: A. Enrollment data, including enrollment status, and whether the student is a first-time student, continuing or returning student, transfer student, or other student. B. Persistence data, including a student's education level. C. Graduation data, including whether a degree or certificate was conferred and the on-time completion rate by cohort based on date of initial enrollment and by degree and certificate, for each California campus identified under the same six-digit federal Office of Postsecondary Education identification number, and in the aggregate for all the institution's campuses and locations. D. The job placement rate and salary and wage information for each program that is either of the following: (1) Designed or advertised to lead to a particular type of job. CONTINUED SB 760 Page 4 (2) Advertised or promoted with any claim regarding job placement. Job placement rate and salary and wage information required by this subdivision shall be reported for each program for each California campus identified under the same six-digit federal Office of Postsecondary Education identification number, and in the aggregate for all the institution's campuses and locations. The job placement rate and salary and wage information shall be reported in the aggregate for Cal Grant recipients by program. 2. Authorizes the CSAC to use data already available from federal agencies and other state agencies in lieu of requiring institutions to report, if the CSAC determines the data are sufficient for meeting the requirements under #1 above. 3. Defines a "California campus" as each California campus, additional location, site, or branch identified on the institutional participation agreement of the qualifying institution. 4. Defines "normal time" as the amount of time necessary for a student to complete all requirements for a degree or certificate according to the institution's catalog. 5. Defines "on-time completion rate" as all of the following: A. The number of students attending a California campus who completed the program during the most recently completed award year. B. The number of students who completed the program within the normal time, as defined, regardless of whether students transferred into the program or changed programs at the institution. C. Dividing the number of students attending a California campus that completed the program within normal time by the total number of students who completed the program and multiplying the result by 100. CONTINUED SB 760 Page 5 D. Requires institutions to calculate the on-time completion rate for each California campus identified under the same six-digit federal Office of Postsecondary Education identification number. 6. Defines "placement rate" as the placement rate for students attending a California campus as determined under a methodology developed by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), when the rate is available. If an NCES placement rate methodology has not been specified then the methodology shall be the methodology specified by the institution's accrediting agency, as specified. If an accrediting agency does not specify a methodology for the calculation of a placement rate, then the CSAC shall specify the methodology. Comments Need for the Bill . SB 70 began the process of requiring the reporting of enrollment, persistence, graduation, and job placement data of institutions participating in the Cal Grant program. This bill is intended to: 1. Clarify reporting requirements of SB 70; 2. Mitigate impact of the new data reporting requirements (from SB 70) on Cal Grant participating institutions by aligning data elements as much as possible with those already required for federal Title IV financial aid eligibility; 3. Ensure public access to data about each Cal Grant participating school's program performance; and 4. Provide the Legislature with necessary data as it considers future policy changes for the Cal Grant program. Federal regulations generally take effect July 1, 2012 . Regulations for institutional participation in various federal financial aid programs, including the federal Pell Grant program, have been promulgated and will take effect July 1, 2012. Many of the definitions described in SB 760 CONTINUED SB 760 Page 6 are taken from the federal registry of regulations and are intended to align California's Cal Grant program with federal definitions. Proposed budget cuts to Cal Grant program . As part of the 2011 Budget, the Legislature recently approved $124 million in cuts to the Cal Grant program by requiring the CSAC to annually verify income and asset levels of renewals and by making institutions with specified student default rates ineligible to participate in Cal Grant programs. And also specifies, as a condition for its voluntary participation in the Cal Grant program, each Cal Grant participating institution shall provide the CSAC with specified information. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: Fiscal Impact (in thousands) Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund Delay reporting ---cost pressure*--- General requirements Increased reporting potentially significant ongoing cost General pressure; potentially significant savings * Ongoing cost pressure created by SB 70 is delayed to 2012-13 SUPPORT : (Verified 5/24/11) California Student Aid Commission (source) CPM:mw 5/25/11 Senate Floor Analyses CONTINUED SB 760 Page 7 SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED